Wireless communications systems, including cellular phones, paging devices, personal communication services (PCS) systems, and wireless data networks, have become ubiquitous in society. To attract new customers, wireless service providers continually seek to improve wireless services cheaper and better, such as by implementing new technologies that reduce infrastructure costs and operating costs, increase handset battery lifetime, and improve quality of service (e.g., signal reception).
Code division multiple access (CDMA) is a very common and popular platform for providing wireless service. Wireless service providers use CDMA technology to provide both voice and data services to subscribers. The latest versions of CMDA (e.g., IS-2000, 1×EV-DV/DO, and WCDMA) provide a range of improved services to subscribers, including high-speed data connections to support applications such as e-mail, web browsing, and the like.
However, like other wireless technologies, CDMA provides a strict allocation of frequencies and bandwidth to each user mobile station. Wireless network operators seeking additional performance enhancements have requested a more flexible capability that will support CDMA service beyond the existing 1.25 MHz spectrum allocation.
To meet with the requests of wireless network operators, the Applicants have proposed a wireless network based on the 1×EV-DV standard in which traffic channel bandwidth may be allocated in a dynamic and scalable manner. The scalable traffic channels are a multiple, Z, of a 1×EV-DV channel, so that the wireless network is generically referred to herein as a “Z×EV-DV wireless network”. However, the introduction of dynamically scalable traffic channels in a Z×EV-DV wireless network introduces complications in the conventional handoff mechanism used in 1×EV-DV wireless networks.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for improved CDMA wireless network. In particular, there is a need for an improved handoff mechanism for use in a CDMA wireless network that uses scalable-bandwidth traffic channels.